The sale process looks pretty straightforward at first look. However, there are various processes and parts involved in sales. Your orders have to go through a systematic process to main flow in the business and sales from quotation to order management. This guide will discuss what methods are involved when a company or seller receives an order and even before that.

What Is a Quote?

Before we proceed to the processes involved, let's briefly explain what a quote is in the business and sales industry. This is to avoid any confusion or misconception. A quote is a formal and official document that lists down and explains an order's price and provides customers with a clear and transparent costing of the work.

From Quote to Order

Generally, the sales process is divided into two major parts: the Quote-to-Order process and the actual Order Management Process. Before an order is finalized and approved, it goes through the quotation process. And this process is also subdivided into more parts, which elaborate on in the next few sections:

  1. Quotation
  2. Proposition
  3. Negotiation
  4. Order

Quotation

This is the first part and is where the customer announces the services or products they demand. This is where the first draft of the quote is made and all products and services needed are included in the quote. Prices are indicated and compared to competitors' prices for revision of costs.

Proposition

This is where the quote is revised. The services, products, and prices are configured to make a proposal containing the costs breakdown. The proposal would also include all other costs and charges, like taxes.

Negotiation

This is a serious and detailed communication between the seller and the customer. Necessary negotiation between the two is done to ensure a balanced benefit for both seller and buyer. This is also the start of the finalization of the order.

Order

This is where the quote becomes an order. After a successful negotiation and finalization of the quote, the customer can finally place the order. This is the last part of this process and the start of the official Order Management Process.

Order Management Process

This is where the order is processed and fulfilled to complete the needs of the customer successfully. Order management is the receiving, tracking, and fulfillment of a customer's order. And most sellers and businesses use programs like OMS software for more efficient and easier management.

How to Order: Management Processes From Quote, Supply, to Delivery

The main goal of this process is the delivery of the order and is also divided into succeeding procedures and steps. For the order management process, a business or seller follows:

  1. Receiving order
  2. Contract making and signing
  3. Billing
  4. Shipping
  5. Delivery
  6. Order receiving

Receiving Order

After the quote is made into an order, the order and the deal are then received and accepted by the seller or manufacturer.

Contract Making and Signing

Legal documents are essential components of the order management process since a deal is made between two parties. And a contract is a way to bind this deal and would be the go-to document in case of any issues during the process.

Once the order or deal is accepted, signing contracts is essential. The contract will then contain all necessary details and information about the agreement between the two parties. The contracts will also serve as the form of transparency and legality of the deal.

Billing

When the contracts are signed, the seller can now request the customer to pay and develop a request or bill for the payment. The bill should contain the details of the order: the product or service, the quantity, costs, additional charges, and more.

Shipping

Once the payment is secured, either fully paid or partially, the shipment process of the product can now start. For partial payments, the rest of the payments are usually paid when the products are received or the services are rendered. As long as payment is made, the seller can now secure the shipping process.

Delivery

This is the process and length of time for the transport of goods or services to the customer and is the last part of the order management process. When delivery is made, it means the deal between the seller and customer is nearly complete.

If any unforeseen accidents happen or the products are damaged during this step, the seller would have to collect these items and replace them with undamaged ones again.

Order Receiving

For assurance, this step is included to ensure that the products are received entirely by the customer. This is when the customer confirms that they've received the products or services and can do so through verbal and non-verbal communication.

Conclusion

The order management system requires a lot of effort to maintain. The whole sales process actually is. Every step and detail must be adequately done with regards to the needs of the customer and the benefit of the seller or business at the same time.

This quote to cash process is what makes up the sales cycle in the industry. It needs to be systematic and managed adequately. For this reason, there are now programs and software made available for the eCommerce industry to use, like the management software developed by Virtocommerce. This type of software ensures more manageable and faster organization and processing of an order - from quote until delivery.